On April 14, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its opinion in the conflicts minerals case, National Association of Manufacturers, et al., v. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Court of Appeals upheld most aspects of the statute and the rule, but found that the statute and rule violate the First Amendment “to the extent that the statute and rule require regulated entities to report to the Commission and to state on their website that any of their products have not been found to be ‘DRC conflict free.’” The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. As of this time, there is no reprieve for issuers from the requirement to file a Form SD or conflict minerals report with the … Read More »

The SEC recently announced that it has denied whistleblower claims in connection with three different matters and awarded an additional $150,000 to the inaugural recipient of an award under the SEC’s whistleblower program.

The SEC denied a whistleblower award claim relating to its case against penny stock promoters for fraudulently hyping Anscott Industries. See SEC v. Esposito, No. 08:00494 T26 (M.D. Fla. June 30, 2011). In Esposito, the court entered final judgments against the defendants ordering them to pay more than $20 million in disgorgement and civil penalties in a fraudulent touting case. The SEC denied the award because (1) the claimant failed to submit the claim within 90 days of the Notice of Covered Action and failed to demonstrate such tardiness should be waived based on extraordinary circumstances as “claimant failed to diligently pursue the claim for award upon termination … Read More »

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 directed the SEC to establish a “bounty program” for certain individuals who voluntarily provide the SEC with original information that leads to successful SEC actions resulting in monetary sanctions over $1,000,000. Dodd-Frank also prohibits employers from taking retaliatory action against employees who report potential violations to the SEC and authorizes an employee to bring a private action in federal court alleging retaliation. If successful, the employee may be entitled to reinstatement, double back pay, litigation costs, expert witness fees, and attorneys’ fees. See 18 U.S.C. § 1514A.

Dodd-Frank also provides that pre-dispute arbitration clauses are invalid and unenforceable. See id. at § 1514A(e)(2). This means companies and their executives or employees cannot agree to arbitrate Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims. But does this prohibition apply to employment contracts negotiated and … Read More »

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